Credit: George Mason University
Coming to a new country to study is never an easy thing to do. Between learning a new language to understanding the cultural differences, adapting to a new region can lead to a multitude of issues. For international students, the stress of learning to live in a new country is something they anticipate when they first apply and without a doubt, they still move forward and face the challenge head-on.
At George Mason University Korea, we have a decent amount of students each semester that come to study here from international locations. To understand what it was like for them to adjust to living in South Korea, we asked a couple of them what their experience was like when they first arrived. Many students replied saying that one of their first memories when they arrived, was the uncertainty of how to communicate with people without knowing the language already. Student Patricia Rios describes, “The hardest thing to deal with when coming to Korea is the language because it creates a barrier between the foreign students and the Korean students and community. It's hard to socialize or build friendships with others with whom you cannot communicate easily. In my case, sometimes I have felt excluded from conversations because the persons at some point start talking in Korean. This makes all the adaptation process more complicated. I consider that one solution would be that the university gives foreign students free Korean classes so we can adapt to the Korean culture and make local friends more smoothly.”
Not only George Mason students go through with these struggles. Utah freshman Nicole Shelton explains that the thing she worried most about when arriving in South Korea was also the language barrier. She believes that because it is their native language it is only polite that she tries to learn the language, and that is shouldn’t just be Koreans accommodating to her. She is working hard to learn Korean as fast as she can so that she is able to express herself better. As a direct enrollment to Utah University, Shelton will spend three years on the Korean campus, so she would like to communicate with more people on and off campus.
Although it makes it difficult for students to complete daily tasks such as ordering food and calling a taxi, in an unfamiliar territory, people must learn to adapt to their surroundings in order to survive. As well as on the Global Campus, our international students have worked hard to adapt to a new culture and setting. From juggling school to attending events in order to have a Korean immersion within the campus, international students would like to thank the people that have helped them along the way.
Kristy Tsai | Reporter
ktsai2@masonlive.gmu.edu
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